Haze
by Razzella
Summary: Sakura has developed a shameful, unhealthy obsession with her dead enemy; finds herself entranced by his beautiful nonexistence - and then her reality shatters to bits. One-shot. [Sasori X Sakura]


**Haze** [heyz] _noun, verb, hazed, haz-ing_

**_Noun_**

1. An Aggregation in the atmosphere of very fine, widely dispersed, solid or liquid particles, or both, giving the air an opalescent appearance that subdue colors.

2. Vagueness or obscurity, as of the mind or perception; confused or vague thoughts, feelings, etc.: _The victims were still in a haze and couldn't describe the accident_

**_Verb (used with object), _****_Verb_****_ (used without object)_**

3. To make or become hazy.

* * *

Cool fingers traced the outline of the now long-gone puppeteers jaw, nibbling at her lower lip softly. Sakura couldn't help but feel some desire for the beautiful male – or, his wooden body, more precisely – with its well defined features. It truly was beautiful in its own right; she sometimes found herself feeling a bit guilty over what had become of him. She had found that the perfect puppet was more than a shell as she had originally thought, and yet it was beyond her own comprehension that it existed still in this state without its masters glowing cinnamon orbs tucked beneath useless eyelids. Her fingers traced the flawless lips as her emerald gaze seemed to soften, a faint tint of pink coming to her usually pale skin.

Truth be told, she was unsure _why _she had gone back for the puppet before returning to Konoha; she told herself it was a trophy of her achievement in ridding the world of such a disgusting person. Needless to say, she was equally disgusted with herself for keeping his lifeless form as such a trophy.

But she couldn't get rid of it.

Her fingers were lightly running along his neck; eyes glowing in a mixture of admiration and fascination with the beautifully crafted creation. Sakura had nothing against the man she had worked so hard to destroy besides the fact he was working with her friend's mortal (and in a few cases, _immortal!_) enemies. As far as she was concerned, he was her first blood despite the lack of blood flowing through his perfect body – and it was only natural she should feel some kind of connection to him. It didn't explain why she had his body stuffed in her basement and occasionally found herself admiring it like a sick psychopath, but it was a start to figuring it out. She tore her eyes off of the dead Akatsuki with a sigh, running her fingers through her hair.

The young woman had found herself trying to learn how to control the lost form, though the moment those sweet brown eyes came open she would usually find herself jerking away in shame. Despite the lack of life that had been in them before she managed to end him, his eyes sent a chill up her spine that she couldn't even try to control. No matter what she told herself, she had no kind of deceiving notions it wasn't desire. Sakura could lie to herself all day every day of the week but it didn't change the fact that she was attracted to a dead man's body; this was probably the most unnerving discovery she had found when she brought him into her home.

"Sakura-chaaaan!" Her front door swinging open and slamming into the wall managed to jerk her back to life. The small woman dashed up the stairs and locked the basement door with an audible "click!" Her face was flushed as she offered a sheepish smile to her blond friend who so eagerly dashed into her home; the male grinned in return.

"You didn't come last night." He whined and her face clouded over in confusion. "Ino pitched the biggest fit because you never showed up at Shinos' surprise party!" A sudden realization dawned upon her that she had indeed missed her friend's birthday while she was busy playing mediocre puppeteer; she was disturbed something so important had slipped her notice while she was playing with her new hobby.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun! I worked a late shift last night and it completely slipped my mind; I came home and went straight to sleep." Sakura felt like she was dripping venom from her lips as the lie so easily rolled off her tongue. The fact his face filled with understanding only succeeded in making her feel even guiltier.

"You look terrible," Naruto commented and she felt a familiar twitch in her face. "Are you feeling okay?" Before she even thought about it her fist connected with his jaw in an almost comical way; successfully planting him like a painting against her wall.

"Naruto, you're such an idiot!" Once she successfully chased him from her home she collapsed on her couch, putting her face in her hands. The rosette girl knew she needed to get ahold of herself – she had been sneaking around playing puppet master for weeks now and completely shunning her duty. She was so ashamed of her nonsensical desire to keep his never-wilting body; who would listen to her equally nonsensical explanations without dubbing her crazy? - Without locking her up for her remaining sanity to be picked at until she really _was _insane?

Pale fingers rubbed her neck a bit as she sighed, biting down on her lower lip. The pink-haired kunoichi clearly had issues with self-control she wasn't ready or willing to deal with. Looking at her reflection only seemed to solidify this insanity eating at her when she saw the dark rings around her eyes; the unfamiliar, _dull_ coloring of her once vibrant locks. Her already pale skin was now a sickly white, and she made a mental note that she would try to balance her life out more appropriately rather than become a recluse in her basement with her dead puppet friend.

Before she could stop the action, the soft green glow of her chakra pooled from the tips of her fingers to bring a small doll to life. One palm was pressed against her chin as she slouched – distracting herself by making the little wooden body dance with the slightest twitching of her fingers. It was more than enough to relax her into a familiar trance; she released a soft sigh as the tension drained from her body. Apparently puppetry was her drug, she noted this bitterly as she stood and made the little doll of a character walk alongside her to her bedroom. It was almost an unconscious thing to make it move alongside her – a silent companion to ease her discomfort as she gathered her things and headed for the bathroom.

Sakuras chakra strings detached abruptly and it fell to the floor as she closed the bathroom door, locking it for extra measures. If people were barging into her house now, she may as well take extra precautions to ensure she was undisturbed. The warm haze that filled her bathroom as scolding hot water ran over her surprisingly filthy body was enough to soothe the knots in her stomach. She could tell herself it was okay she was keeping Sasori - despite the fact he was long gone from this realm of living - and that it wasn't anyone's business if she wanted to use the very lethal puppet as a new toy. Because in the end that is what he wanted, wasn't it? – to be a beautiful, eternal puppet of his own merit and creation? Sakura found she had no wish to deprive the artist of that desire; of the satisfaction he got what he wanted in the end.

Stepping into the foggy surroundings she wrapped a towel around herself and checked the mirror again, smiling in satisfaction to see her hair found its life once again; her sickly skin was slowly regaining its usual glow. Admittedly, it had been a while since she had last showered, much less ate or slept with her growing obsession looming over her as the moon does the night. Her stomach responded to the thought of food as she began dressing herself and started towel drying her hair – more than eager to grab a bite to eat as she finished tugging her rather baggy t-shirt over her head. However, stepping out of the bathroom knocked the breath out of her.

There sat Sasori in all his beautiful, thoughtful glory as he examined her living room with no obvious curiosity. Upon hearing her exit her bathroom, however, his attention turned to her and the slightest of smirks pulled at his lips. Sakuras breath hitched in her throat as his cinnamon eyes caught her own emerald ones; mixed emotions overwhelming her senses as she leaned against the wall next to her bathroom door.

"I'm hallucinating." She said dumbly, though her voice was barely audible in the thick air between them.

"You _did _keep my body," His smooth voice countered coolly, though her eyes were already looking him over for signs to prove her point. Had she not known any better, she would have said he was amused by this fact as his curious eyes searched her as well. "I'm actually inclined to thank you for the care you've shown in tending to it while I was away." Sakura wanted to make a dash for the door – to escape this all-too-realistic hallucination before things got to out of hand; to beg someone to lock her up and save her from herself.

"I'm surprised you went through so much trouble to keep me hidden from your companions though," He was clearly pushing her buttons from the way his lips tugged into a lazy smirk. "Are you ashamed of me, Sakura-chan?" His purr made her face flush as she scowled, making her way towards the door abruptly. She needed to talk to Tsunade about this new development – it was one thing to keep dead bodies locked in your basement, but a completely different matter when they start talking to you.

However, the moment her fingers landed on the doorknob her body froze in place before twirling to face the puppeteer with her mouth slightly agape. Hallucinations couldn't control your body; was she in a genjutsu? A quick jolt of chakra successfully detached the strings, but he didn't vanish. He was still giving her the same lazy smirk as she tried to chew over the new information her brain was processing.

"Holy shit you're alive." Her words elicited a chuckle from him as she gaped, torn between shame and shock that the male was clearly aware she had tucked him in her basement. A shudder trailed down her spine as she wondered how long it was he had been alive and she was just too stupid to notice; this thought lit her face on fire. Fingers latched onto the hem of her shirt loosely as she stared at him with clear discomfort – she _had _tried to kill him. She even had the scar to prove it wasn't all a figment of her imagination; the death of Chiyo and Gaaras life was testaments that she wasn't just completely insane.

Another unnerving thought struck her as she met his surprisingly soothing eyes: he said he would make her his puppet.

"I see you've taken a liking to playing puppet master," He hummed. "I didn't care for being used like an awkward child's doll, but seeing your disturbed expression when I opened my eyes was absolutely endearing; the fact you admired me so openly only succeeded in making me curious as to why it was you stowed me away to begin with." Sakura was beginning to feel faint at the fact he spoke so casually about her fascination, resisting the urge to lean against the wall as she tried not to crumble before him. How had she not noticed?

"I really am baffled as to why it was; would you care to enlighten me?" Sasori apparently noticed her wobbling knees and chuckled as his strings reattached; moving her to sit on the couch beside him.

"I don't know why." Sakura felt the lie sting her lips – she did know why, now that he was here eyeing her with those cool, calculating orbs. She knew exactly why it was she was so obsessed with keeping the puppet masters body taken care of; even going so far as to neglect her own needs to tend to his. She shifted, scowling a bit as his slender arms wrapped around her loosely as his strings held her still; she didn't bother fighting the contact. It was too late now anyway, from the looks of things.

"I warned you, little girl." Sasori murmured to her, lips lightly kissing at the shell of her ear. Sakura shivered despite herself, finally squirming in his grip as she dispelled his strings irritably; only to have her chakra diminished as they found their place on her body once again. Lacking the desired energy to resist his control, her fingers slid along his cheek softly. He nuzzled into her touch with a purr, grinning into her palm as she hissed out quiet protests.

"Hush; be a good little puppet and I'll leave your precious Kyuubi alone for the moment." His lips were cool against her steadily heating skin, and she found herself crawling into his lap affectionately despite her clear anger. She was so _stupid _to have found herself infatuated with such a dangerous creature, and it was clear he was enjoying her inner torment from the way his grin became slightly manic.

"How?" Sakura finally seethed as he twitched his fingers – making her own respond in playful caresses of her own skin despite herself.

"I said you couldn't hurt me, though I suppose I should have elaborated." Sasoris voice was soothing as he forced her hands to run along her stomach underneath her oversized shirt. "I can't die. It would be foolish of me to expose my weaknesses so openly; I'm surprised you fell for it after putting so much work into our little fight." His voice trailed off for a moment as a twitch of his pinky made her fingers curl around her shirt a tug it up, revealing the scar she had gained from his sword.

"You never even noticed the seal, did you?" He murmured as his lips pressed into the marred skin, tongue flicking out to run along it slowly. It was then that a searing pain shot up her form; a surprised yelp left her lips in line with the shudder of poorly hidden pleasure. Her eyes darted down to see a newly formed red marking over her scar – a red scorpion.

"I said you would be added to my collection; that you would be my new puppet," Sasoris lips were still pressed into her new marking, purring suggestively as his sweet cinnamon orbs met her shocked green ones. "I didn't clarify how, now did I?"


End file.
